Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
extension of time?
The simple answer is that there is no easy way, but that some ways are easier than others.
Thewaysinwhichdelayscanoperateonacontractaremanyandvaried,andtryingtoassess
the effects of a dozen or more delays acting on different activities (and some acting on the
sameactivity)isquitedifficult.Formanyyears,architectswouldtrytosolvetheconundrum
by comparing actual against programmed progress on a bar chart, making what allowance
seemed appropriate for the contractor's own delays, and finally making a stab at it.
Some architects, with total disregard for the contract provisions, approached the problem
from an entirely new angle and simply considered whether they felt that the contractor's
progress, taken as a whole, was reasonable or not and decided upon the extension of time
accordingly.Needlesstosay,thiskindofexerciseusuallyresultedincontractorsbeinggiven
moreextension oftimethantheirstrict entitlement, andoccasionally toratherlessthantheir
entitlement.
Inrecentyears,morereliancehasbeenplacedonthecomputeranditsabilitytoperforma
greatmanycomplexcalculations almostinstantaneously.Althoughtheinitialeffortrequired
is fairly substantial, the advantage of using a computer to assist in calculating extensions of
time is that logic can be brought to the process and the analysis can be carried out on a reas-
onable basis. The courts have shown themselves ready to accept such analysis provided that
it is properly carried out, and it is certainly better than when the architect reaches a decision
network or precedence diagram is used, and there are a number of such programmes avail-
able.Theprogrammesenableactivitiestobelinkedinalogicalfashionsothattheeffectofa
delayononeactivitycanbetrackedthroughtheprogrammetothecompletionoftheWorks.
The programmes allow activities to be delayed or started early, and resources can be added.
Architects and project managers should routinely use computerised programmes as a matter
of course to monitor progress and assist in analysing delays. Contractors should submit de-
tailed programmes on disk as well as in hard copy.
Programmescanbepreparedtoshowtheprogressas-builtcomparedtointendedprogress,
and known employer-generated delays can be taken out to examine the likely situation had
those delays not occurred. The reverse operation can also be tried. The logic links will de-
termine the effect of delays, and it is important to ensure that they are shown correctly.
In
Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd v The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of
As part of its submission in adjudication, Balfour Beatty referred to the 'most widely recog-
nised and used' delay analysis methods:
